Another week, and another seven days worth of shambolic leadership from the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition.
Hardly a day goes by nowadays without the major political parties being engulfed with one crisis or another. On the menu this week, Windrush and Anti-Semitism.
The abject failings of the government in respect of its immigration policy surrounding those who came to the UK from across the Commonwealth Post-War is hard to overstate. To call the strategy, and its subsequent implementation, as disastrous would be too kind.
It is of no interest or consolation to those unfortunate British citizens who have lost access to the NHS, benefits, social care, and threatened with deportation, that the paperwork associated with their arrival in this country was destroyed whilst a Labour Minister was sat in the Home Office (that claim has, of course, been disputed).
True or not, the smugness with which Theresa May delivered this news across the dispatch box at PMQs on Wednesday was unbecoming of a Prime Minister.
Contrition, embarrassment, and humility were the traits that ought to have been displayed, in abundance, from May this week. Instead, she chose to score a cheap political point over expressing regret about the suffering Her Majesty’s government have inflicted on those people who helped rebuild our country.
Weather the ultimate chaos was intended or not the stated objective of Mrs May and her Tory colleagues, from at least 2012 onwards, has been to create a hostile environment for immigrants. That narrative has resulted in a more aggressive, less reasonable approach from officials; and given the green light to racist elements within the UK to confidently display their discrimination very publicly. Be in no doubt, Mrs May stands in the dock for Windrush, and previous tenants at Number Ten Downing Street would have been ordering the removal vans around about now.
That she isn’t is largely due to the fact that the man charged with holding her to account is pretty hopeless at that job. Forget weather the PM was right or wrong in her assertion that it was a Labour Home Secretary that ordered the destroying of paperwork from the 1940’s. Corbyn clearly hadn’t done his homework, and he was left totally flatfooted by May’s response to his question.
He was then left with the further challenge of his inaction to tackle the disgraceful Anti-Semite movement that has been allowed to contaminate the Labour Party. He has done little or nothing to condemn the Anti-Semitic culture that has long existed on the hard Left of British politics. His silence, and the efforts of some of his allies to paint this as a ‘conspiracy by the establishment to undermine Jeremy’ beggars belief.
That a Parliamentary debate has to be called to shine a light on this wicked disease in 2018 is a scar on Labour, and on society as a whole. The courageous speeches of Luciana Berger and others in the Chamber during this emotional session, was a credit to those who called Anti- Semitism out – but if Labour’s leadership continues to bury its head in the sand over the issue, how can Berger and many others in Labour’s mainstream, justify continued membership of an organisation that is clearly losing its way?
Has the political landscape in this country ever been this depressing? I don’t think so. Can this madness continue for much longer? It depends. Will more sensible politicians from all sides bring themselves to put our country before their discredited parties?
